Apple TV Questions..

[One Love 1867]

Hey all,

Abit of a numpty when it comes to this sort of thing but.. please bear with me!

I'm contemplating buying an Apple TV. I'm looking for an alternative solution to HD movies etc, but have never been one for having stacks and stacks of physical DVD's/Blu-Ray cases etc. Also, the idea of being able to download movies on demand as appose to using a servive like Love Film seems quite attractive.

I was just wondering however, if it's possible to store movies downloaded through Apple TV on your computer without them being stored on the Apple TV itself? Neither 40gb or 160gb really offer great flexibility with regards to storing purchased films en-mass for any length of time, so would i be able to move a bought movie from the Apple TV and onto a Computer/HDD Drive when it's not needed?

That's pretty much the only thing stopping me from buying one at the moment. I do like the idea of keeping all my movies on a HDD, but not if i'm restricted totally to the 40gb/160gb Apple TV offers.

A friend has also informed me he has a Mac Mini with an external HDD drive as part of his Home Cinema setup for storing and downloading movies. Would this be a better option (despite the extra cost) for me? A Mac Mini would allow me to store everything on an external HDD, and also use handbrake to convert and store my existing DVD's, but would i be able to use a Mac Mini to download and watch HD movies through iTunes the same way i would be able to on Apple TV?

There's probably any number of stupidly obvious questions amongst all that, but i did warn you i was abit of a numpty with this sort of thing! Any help greatly appreciated

 

[roidy]

Yes thats exactly what the AppleTV is designed to do and why the hard drive is so small. As soon as the AppleTV connects to iTunes on your computer all the content you purchased on the AppleTV is transfered back to your PC/MAC iTunes library for safe keeping. The AppleTV was never ment to be a long-term storage device. All your media should be stored away from AppleTV be it on the computers internal drive or a external one connected to your computer. Sure you can copy files to the AppleTV incase you ever want to take on holiday with you.

 

[One Love 1867]

Ah right - OK. So if after the Apple TV has synced to iTunes, if i then delete the movie from Apple TV, will the movie still remain on my PC despite no longer being on Apple TV? Will the Apple TV not "tell" my PC that the file has now gone and delete it from both the next time it syncs?

For some reason, i had the impression that despite syncing regularly with each other, movies had to be on both the Apple TV and PC or on neither. You couldn't keep a movie on your PC and not have it on Apple TV at the same time. Guess i'm wrong!

In terms of media storage and streaming etc at large then, am i better off sticking with the Apple TV or going abit more up in price and getting a Mac Mini?

 

[ravenvii]

Ah right - OK. So if after the Apple TV has synced to iTunes, if i then delete the movie from Apple TV, will the movie still remain on my PC despite no longer being on Apple TV? Will the Apple TV not "tell" my PC that the file has now gone and delete it from both the next time it syncs?

For some reason, i had the impression that despite syncing regularly with each other, movies had to be on both the Apple TV and PC or on neither. You couldn't keep a movie on your PC and not have it on Apple TV at the same time. Guess i'm wrong!

In terms of media storage and streaming etc at large then, am i better off sticking with the Apple TV or going abit more up in price and getting a Mac Mini?

I don't have an Apple TV but if it works like the iPhone/iPod if you delete it on the Apple TV, it stays on the PC. You don't have to have the movie on the Apple TV though, it can be streamed.

However, from brief usage at the Apple Store, I think there's not a way to delete the video off the Apple TV on the interface. You seem to have to manage the Apple TV's content via the PC. So your PC is the master "server", and the Apple TV just does what the PC tells it to.

 

[gr8tfly]

I don't have an Apple TV but if it works like the iPhone/iPod if you delete it on the Apple TV, it stays on the PC. You don't have to have the movie on the Apple TV though, it can be streamed.

However, from brief usage at the Apple Store, I think there's not a way to delete the video off the Apple TV on the interface. You seem to have to manage the Apple TV's content via the PC. So your PC is the master "server", and the Apple TV just does what the PC tells it to.

There's no way to delete movies from tv interface except for rentals.

 

[roidy]

Ah right - OK. So if after the Apple TV has synced to iTunes, if i then delete the movie from Apple TV, will the movie still remain on my PC despite no longer being on Apple TV? Will the Apple TV not "tell" my PC that the file has now gone and delete it from both the next time it syncs?

No, once the AppleTV copys the file to the PC it automaticly deletes it from the AppleTV itself. So the only copy your left with is on the PC.

For some reason, i had the impression that despite syncing regularly with each other, movies had to be on both the Apple TV and PC or on neither. You couldn't keep a movie on your PC and not have it on Apple TV at the same time. Guess i'm wrong!

No files can either be solely on th PC and streamed to the AppleTV or on both the PC and AppleTV.

Just to make things more complicated the AppleTV has 2 modes of operation selectable from inside iTunes:-

Sync - You select files from within iTunes and they get copyed to th AppleTV from playback from the AppleTV itself, the original file still remains on the PC a copy is just made on the AppleTV.

Stream - All the file stay on your PC and when you play one from the AppleTV it is simply streamed across the network to the AppleTV. No files are copied to the AppleTV.

In terms of media storage and streaming etc at large then, am i better off sticking with the Apple TV or going abit more up in price and getting a Mac Mini?

Thats a personal choose depending on what you want from the device. If you just want a simple solution for purchasing and viewing iTunes content then get the AppleTV. Dont forget you can still convert all your DVDs to AppleTV format and view them. Personaly I love my AppleTV it`s one of the best purchases I`ve made in a long time.

 

[One Love 1867]

Cheers Roidy.

Hmm, decisions decisions. I do want to upgrade to a Mac anyway at some point in the future, as my PC is dieing and i miss my Macbook after having to sell it last year, so the extra functionality of the Mac Mini does have me interested. At the same time though, the only reason this dilemma exists in the first place is because i'm looking into alternative solutions to Blu-Ray for HD content, and (at least at the moment) i'm not sure the Mac Mini really helps me much there. If you can't download and view HD content through a Mac Mini, either through iTunes or other sources, then i'm still at square one weather i buy one or not..

 

[Bye Bye Baby]

I find that streaming movies from the iMac works very well and that renting videos on the ATV is a great thing. My ATV is only 40 gigs but is more than adequate for what I need to do.

I have a library of around 250 gigs.

 

[padawan]

So let me see if I get this...

If I buy an AppleTV, download a movie, sync it with my computer, can I then put it on an external HD-drive for safe storage?

 

[dmm219]

So let me see if I get this...

If I buy an AppleTV, download a movie, sync it with my computer, can I then put it on an external HD-drive for safe storage?

If you DL a movie for PURCHASE...yes. If you download anything for purchase on the ATV, it will automatically sync that file back to whatever PC is running the ATV's synced itunes account. The file will then exist on both your PC and the ATV. At that point, you can put the file where ever you want, as long as Itunes knows where to go look for it.

FWIW...most people use external HD's to keep their library on. I have a 1.5TB and another 1TB (as backup). They are cheap now.

If you RENT a movie on your ATV, you will not be able to transfer the file, or view it, anywhere else except on your ATV...

 

[padawan]

OK!

Thanks! That´s what I wanted to know.

 

[FatManIncNation]

Converting Certain AVI kills virtualhub and handbrake

I have a huge problem. I have been trying to convert a few avi files and virtualhub will spit out a 5 min file for a file that I input at 45 min. I try to convert these same avi files with handbrake and handbrake just starts to convert and then quits. ANYONE THAT CAN HELP IS GREATLY APPRECIATED, THIS IS DRIVING ME CRAZY!!!!!

 

[padawan]

This is not an answer to the question above, but a new one.

If I install XBMC (for example) on my appleTV, can I then, if I change my mind, return it to it´s "original state", "without a trace" that it has been hacked?

Thanks.

 

[dmm219]

This is not an answer to the question above, but a new one.

If I install XBMC (for example) on my appleTV, can I then, if I change my mind, return it to it´s "original state", "without a trace" that it has been hacked?

Thanks.

Yes. You can, at any time, do a "factory reset" (in the settings menu option)...which will return your ATV to the firmware and configuration it was when it was purchased. But it will not let you go further in the past when it comes to firmware. In other words, I just bought a second ATV this week. There is no way for me to return my ATV all the way back to version 1.0 or even 2.0.

 

[padawan]

OK, I see. Thanks!

Now I have another question. I´ve read somewhere that apple locks itunes-accounts.

I live in Europe and I want to buy US gift certificates off ebay and use them on my AppleTV. Can I do this or is it a risk?

 

[dmm219]

OK, I see. Thanks!

Now I have another question. I´ve read somewhere that apple locks itunes-accounts.

I live in Europe and I want to buy US gift certificates off ebay and use them on my AppleTV. Can I do this or is it a risk?

Can't help you with that one. I know you are forced into using the Euro-only Itunes store...which has different shows and movies than the US store. (You guys have Planet Earth in HD...lucky you...)

No idea how the gift cards work tho...